11 moose illegally killed this season

A large bull moose moves through an open area near the west entrance
of
Rocky Mountain National Park. (Estes Park Trail Gazette)

GRAND JUNCTION  Halfway through the fall rifle seasons, Colorado Parks
and Wildlife officials are again warning elk hunters not to shoot moose
during their hunting trips.

Law enforcement officers are investigating 11 cases of moose being
illegally shot this fall, including a trophy bull moose discovered shot
and
abandoned in the White River National Forest near Red Sandstone Road on
Sunday, Oct. 30 and another illegally killed near Silverthorne on Oct.
22.

Last year, officers investigated 14 cases of moose being mistakenly  or
illegally shot. Eleven hunters were cited for poaching or negligence.

If there's any question  any question at all  don't shoot, said Ron
Velarde Northwest Regional Manager. If you're not absolutely,
positively
certain of your target, do not pull that trigger.

While each case presents unique circumstances, wildlife managers say
inadvertent moose kills invariably involve some combination of low-light
conditions, an incomplete or long-distance view of the animal and poor
judgment by the hunter, leading to misidentification of the target.

It is the obligation of every hunter to positively identify the target,
said Bob Thompson, Colorado Parks and Wildlife's Acting Chief of Law
Enforcement. It's the first and most important thing we teach in hunter
safety class. There is no excuse for shooting the wrong animal.

Moose and elk are both large members of the deer family and the two
species are easy to distinguish in clear light, said Andy Holland,
Colorado
Parks and Wildlife's big game manager. Elk tend to be lighter, have a
white
rump and can be found in groups, often in hilly and open terrain. Moose
tend
to be uniformly dark brown, travel singly or in pairs, and can often be
found in riparian areas and willow thickets.

However, moose and elk can often be found in similar terrain  in aspen
stands, in oak brush, in wet or dry meadows, and even above timberline.
Heavy cover can also obscure distinguishing field marks, like the
moose's
bulbous nose or the broad, palmated antlers of bulls.

Hunting for elk is often best at dawn and dusk, low-light conditions
that can lead to the misidentification of elk and moose even by
experienced
hunters. The moose's habit of standing still in bottoms and wet terrain
can
also make it a tempting target for an inexperienced or over-anxious
hunter.

Elk don't stand around and watch you, Holland said. If it sees you or
smells you and doesn't run away, it's probably not an elk. It's the
hunters'
responsibility to make sure they know what they're looking at.

Funded and supported by sportsmen, Colorado's moose introduction program
ranks as one of the most successful species conservation efforts in
state's
history. Colorado is home to a growing population of roughly 1,700
moose,
which are now common in North Park, Middle Park, Steamboat Springs, Rio
Grande National Forest, and Grand Mesa National Forest. Moose were
recently
introduced into the White River National Forest east of Meeker. In
addition,
moose are inveterate wanderers and are increasingly found on the Front
Range.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife issued just 175 moose hunting licenses this
year. The lifetime bag limit for antlered moose in Colorado is one. In
contrast, wildlife managers issued elk licenses to more than 214,000
hunters
in 2010.

As Colorado's moose population has grown, Colorado Parks and Wildlife
managers have devoted significant resources to education and outreach
programs intended to inform hunters about the differences between elk
and
moose. This year, some 23,000 flyers were mailed to hunters who drew elk
tags in areas where moose are known to exist. Elk and moose
identification
lessons are a standard part of hunter safety courses. Teams of
volunteers
even visited hunters in their camps throughout the Northwest Region to
deliver the message face-to-face.

But sometimes, even a personal conversation is not enough. In 2010,
Velarde visited a camp of elk hunters near Meeker and warned the group
to be
on the lookout for moose. A day later, a wildlife officer returned to
the
camp after one of the hunters turned himself in for shooting a moose.

We harvest about 50,000 elk every year, Velarde said. The vast
majority of hunters behave responsibly and identify their target before
taking their shot. They shouldn't feel like they're getting a black eye
because a very small number of people are too quick on the trigger.

Hunters that mistakenly kill the wrong animal are urged to field dress
the carcass and immediately contact Colorado Parks and Wildlife.
Wildlife
officers will seize the erroneously killed animal and donate the meat.
Hunters who mistakenly kill a moose and don't turn themselves in, like
the
hunter that shot and abandoned the trophy bull near Vail, face serious
charges and heavy fines if caught by wildlife officers. The illegal take
of
a bull moose can carry fines up to $10,000 and/or surcharges, but
abandonment of a carcass may be prosecuted as a felony with fines up to
$20,000 and/or imprisonment and the possible lifetime loss of hunting
privileges in Colorado and 35 other states that participate in the
national
Wildlife Violator Compact.

In the Silverthorne case, several people hiking the Gore Range and Rock
Creek/Pebble Creek Trail reported that they encountered a hunter who
told
them he had shot a bull moose by mistake, but the individual has yet to
report the incident to wildlife officers. In this case, officers have a
description of the hunter and articles that he left behind, and also
believe
that he is a resident of Colorado.

If you make a mistake, own up to it, Velarde said. It's the right
thing to do. Report it to us and make sure the meat doesn't go to waste.
Better yet  when in doubt, don't pull the trigger.

Hunters who may see suspicious activity in the field are asked to
contact the local District Wildlife Manager, enforcement agency or
Operation
Game Thief toll-free at 877-COLO-OGT (877-265-6648). Callers may remain
totally anonymous.

A fact sheet describing the differences between moose and elk is
available at:
http://wildlife.state.co.us/SiteCollectionDocuments/DOW/Hunting/BigGame/elk-moose-flyer.pdf

To learn more about moose in Colorado, see:
http://wildlife.state.co.us/WildlifeSpecies/LivingWithWildlife/Mammals/Pages/MooseCountry1.aspx

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